The Fragmented Hero in the Deconstructed Arabic Novel:Layl Tanja, ʿAshīqāt al-Nadhil, and Sayyidat al-Maqām as Models

Abstract

This article examines the phenomenon of the disintegration of the hero's character in the deconstructed Arabic novel, drawing on three novels as analytical models: Sayyidat al-Maqām (Lady of the Maqam) by Waciny Al-Aʿraj, (Laredj), ʿAshīqāt al Nadhil (The Villain's Mistresses) by al Tahir al-Riyāḥī, and Layl Tanja (Tangier Night) by Muhammad Ahjiouj. The article proposes a theoretical framework that distinguishes between deconstruction as a philosophical, critical method rooted in Derrida and structural, stylistic disintegration as an expressive tool reflecting the condition of fragmentation lived by the writer and his society; the study adopts the latter approach. It also traces the evolution of the anti-hero concept in both Western and Arabic literature across the phases of modernity and postmodernity. The applied reading reveals that the central characters in all three novels embody the pattern of the fragmented anti-hero, sharing traits such as the absence of a name and identity, social and intellectual paralysis, the inability to achieve selfhood, and surrender to overwhelming forces. The article concludes that this pattern is not merely an aesthetic choice, but a profound reflection of the crisis of Arab humanity in confronting political despotism and the disintegration of collective identity within a fragmented postmodern context.